Ultrasonic motor

ABSTRACT

An ultrasonic motor, comprises an annular stator including an elastic member and piezo-electric elements secured to said elastic member which generate a travelling wave on the surface of the elastic member by being applied with high frequency voltages; and a rotor which is in pressure-contact with the elastic member and is driven to be rotated with respect to said stator by the travelling wave. The rotor includes a cylindrical main body and a thin radial flange integrally secured to the periphery of the rotor main body at one end of the main body facing the stator, and a cylindrical vibration portion secured to a periphery of the flange having a diameter different from that of the rotor main body. The vibration portion extends in a direction which is the same as the vibration direction of the travelling wave. The rotor satisfies the following relation 5&lt;(h/t)&lt;15 wherein t designates the thickness of the flange in a direction of rotational axis and h designates the height of the vibration portion in a direction of vibration of the travelling wave.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an ultrasonic motor, and in particularto a structure of a rotor in the ultrasonic motor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

An ultrasonic motor in which an annular and disc-like rotor is broughtinto pressure-contact with the surface of an oscillator (stator)including an annular or disc-like bimorph which is excited to generate atravelling flexing wave so that the rotor is rotated has recently beenproposed and some type of such ultrasonic motors have been already putinto market.

However, it is very hard to form an ultrasonic motor which is high inefficiency and can be stably rotated and generates no audible noise.That is, in order to efficiently convert the oscillating energygenerated by the oscillator which is a driving source of the ultrasonicmotor into a rotational movement of a rotor, the following requirementsshould be satisfied.

Firstly, leakage of the vibration generated at the stator through asupport of the vibrator to the outside should be prevented. However,this problem can be solved by adopting a supporting structure disclosedin the Japanese Patent Application Sho/63-50224 filed by the presentassignee.

Secondly, it is necessary to provide a rotor structure in which the lossof the vibration energy of a stator due to generation of a vibrationmode which will not contribute to the rotation of the rotor isprevented.

Thirdly, it is necessary to form such a motor in such a way that thevibration component of the vibration generated at the stator in a rotordriving direction is efficiently transmitted to the rotor and thevibration components in a direction normal to the rotor drivingdirection will not be impeded. Japanese Unexamined Patent PublicationSho/63-174581 discloses a rotor structure which satisfies the second andthird requirements. As shown in FIG. 14, in detail, the width of acontact portion 3 of a rotor 1 which is in contact with a main body of astator 4 is made as narrow as possible in this rotor structure. Aportion which causes a contact portion 3 of the rotor 1 topressure-contact with the stator 4 comprises a thin-walled flange 2.

However, unless the radial width of the contact portion 3 is as narrowas possible and the thickness of the contact portion 3 is substantiallyas thin as the flange 2 in the prior structure as shown in FIG. 14, theflexing vibration causes the contact portion to generate a vibrationwhich will not contribute to the rotation of the rotor. The vibrationwill not be dampened at the contact portion 3 and the flange portion 2.The vibration of the stator main body 4 is transmitted to the rotor 1 sothat the vibration of the stator main body 4 is leaked to the outsidevia the rotor 1. Since a true contact area between the contact portion 3and the rotor surface on driving of the ultrasonic motor is proportionalto the width of the contact portion 3, a sufficiently large contact areacan not be formed. Accordingly a large load is locally imposed upon thecontact area between the contact portion 3 and the rotor, resulting in aremarkable wear at the contact area. Therefore, the lifetime of theultrasonic motor is short even when tungsten carbide or hard alumiteetc. having an excellent wear resistance is used for the contactsurface.

Furthermore, it is hard to machine the thin-walled contact portion 3 ata high precision. As the flatness of the contact portion isinsufficient, the ultrasonic motor will not rotate in a stable mannerand in an extreme case, it will not rotate at all.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide acompact ultrasonic motor which overcomes the drawbacks of the prior artand is high in efficiency and stable and long in lifetime and easy tofabricate.

In an aspect of the present invention there is provided an ultrasonicmotor comprising: an annular stator including an elastic member andpiezo-electric elements secured to said elastic member which generates atravelling wave on the surface of the elastic member by being appliedwith high frequency voltages: and a rotor which is in pressure-contactwith the elastic member and is driven to be rotated with respect to saidstator by virtue of the travelling wave, said rotor including acylindrical main body and a flange integrally secured to the peripheryof the rotor main body at one end of the main body opposing the stator,and a cylindrical vibration portion secured to an end face of the flangeand having a diameter different from that of the rotor main body, saidvibration portion extending in a direction which is the same as thevibration direction of the travelling wave, said rotor satisfying thefollowing relation: 5<(h/t)<15 wherein t designates the thickness of theflange in a direction of the rotational axis, and h designates theheight of the vibration portion in a direction of the vibration of thetravelling wave.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided anultrasonic motor comprising: an annular stator including an elasticmember and piezoelectric elements secured to said elastic member whichgenerates a travelling wave on the surface of the elastic member bybeing applied with high frequency voltages; and a rotor which is inpressure-contact with the elastic member and is driven to be rotatedwith respect to said stator by virtue of the travelling wave, said rotorincluding a cylindrical main body and a thin flange integrally securedto the periphery of the rotor main body at one end of the main bodyfacing the stator, and a cylindrical vibration portion secured to an endface of the flange and having a diameter different from that of therotor main body, said vibration portion extending in a direction whichis the same as the vibration direction of the travelling wave, saidrotor satisfying the following relation, 1≦(b/t)≦3.5 wherein tdesignates the thickness of the flange in a direction of the rotationalaxis and b designates the width of the vibration portion in a radialdirection.

In a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided anultrasonic motor comprising: an annular stator including an elasticmember and piezoelectric elements secured to said elastic member whichgenerates a travelling wave on the surface of the elastic member bybeing applied with high frequency voltages; and a rotor including twocylindrical members having different diameters and a flange which linkssaid two cylindrical members with each other, said rotor being driven tobe rotated with respect to the stator by causing any one of twocylinders to contact with the stator at the one end thereof, the springconstant of the flange of the rotor kf (kg/mm) being represented by theformula kf=1.43N+3.5 wherein N (kg) represents a biasing force of therotor applied upon the stator.

In a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided anultrasonic motor comprising: an annular stator including an elasticmember and piezoelectric elements secured to said elastic member whichgenerates a travelling wave on the surface of the elastic member bybeing applied with high frequency voltages; and a rotor which is inpressure contact with the surface of the elastic member and is driven tobe rotated with respect to the stator by the travelling wave, said rotorcomprising a cylindrical main body, a thin-walled flange integrallysecured to the periphery of the main body at an end face thereof facingthe stator, said flange being formed with a plurality of holes in aspaced manner, and a cylindrical vibration portion integrally secured tothe end face of the flange, which extends in a direction of vibration ofthe travelling wave.

In a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided alens-barrel assembly which is driven by an ultrasonic motor, comprising:a lens holding frame for holding a lens and having a member driven by acam driving member; a fixed frame into which said lens holding frame ismovably fitted in a direction of an optical axis and having an obliquecam groove into which said driving member is fitted for cam-driving thelens holding frame; an annular stator of the ultrasonic motor secured tothe fixed frame including an elastic member and piezoelectric elementssecured to said elastic member which generates a travelling wave on thesurface of the elastic member by being applied with high-frequencyvoltages; a rotor of the ultrasonic motor rotatably fitted to the fixedframe, including a cylindrical main body and a flange integrally securedto the periphery of the rotor main body at one end of the main bodyfacing the stator and a vibration portion secured to a periphery of theflange and extending in a vibration direction of the travelling wave andhaving a straight cam groove extending along the optical axis into whichthe driven member is fitted for cam-driving the lens holding frame; andmeans for causing the rotor to rotate around the optical axis and topressure-contact .[.with.]. the stator along the optical axis.

Since the rigidity of the vibration portion of the rotor may be presethigh, machining of the rotor is easy and the contact surface of therotor which will be in contact therewith may be formed with a highaccuracy so that the rotation of the motor is stable.

The width of the contact between the rotor and the stator may be madewider almost independently of the design of a vibration portion withrespect to a rotor and the lifetime of the motor will be remarkablyextended.

A high efficient and compact motor can be provided by forming thevibration portion of the rotor so that the thickness of the wall and thewidth of the flange will be

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view, the right half of which is a sectional viewshowing a first embodiment of an ultrasonic motor of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a graph showing the relation between a ratio b/t wherein bdesignates the width of a contact portion of a rotor in contact with astator and t designates the thickness of a flange of the rotor and theefficiency of the motor;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged detailed side view showing a second embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along a line X--X in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a side view, the right half of which is a sectional view, of arotor, showing a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are graphs showing the relation between the maximumefficiency of a motor and the parameters of a rotor;

FIG. 8 is a graph showing the relation between the spring constant ofthe flange and the rotor biasing force which provides a maximumefficiency of the motor:

FIGS. 9(A), 9(B) and 9(C) are detailed enlarged sectional views showingthe variations of a contact portion and a flange of a rotor;

FIG. 10 is a partly sectional view showing another variation of a rotorin which a flange is folded two times;

FIGS. 11 and 12 are partly perspective and partly sectional views,respectively showing other variations of a rotor in which the flange isprovided with a multiplicity of holes;

FIG. 13 is a side view, the upper half of which is a sectional viewshowing an example of a lens-barrel assembly in which an ultrasonicmotor of the present invention is incorporated and

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing an essential part of aconventional ultrasonic motor.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a first embodiment of anultrasonic motor. A stator 6 comprises a stator main body 4 which ismade of an annular elastic member and a piezo-electric ceramics 5secured to the outer end face (lower side in the drawing) of the statormain body 4. When high frequency voltages are applied to thepiezo-electric ceramics 5, a travelling flexing wave is generated at thestator 6. The rotor 7 which is in pressure-contact with a contactportion 3 of the stator 6 will be driven to be rotated around thecentral axis of the motor by the travelling flexing wave. The contactportion 3 is made narrower by forming a multiplicity of slits 4a on theinner (upper in the drawing) end face of the stator main body 4.

The rotor 7 comprises a rotor main body 8 which is formed into a shortcylinder, a thin-walled flange which extends integrally from theperiphery of the end face of the main body 8 in a radial direction, anda vibration portion 10 which is cylindrically formed and extendsintegrally from the outer peripheral edge of the flange 9 in a vibrationdirection of the travelling wave. The vibration portion 10 is inpressure contact with the contact portion 3 of the stator 6 at theexternal end face (the lower side in the drawing).

Since the ease of flexing of the flange 9 and the vibration portion 10is proportional to a flexural rigidity E·I and Ef·IF (wherein Ef and Edepicts the longitudinal modulus of the flange 9 and the vibrationportion 10, respectively, and If=lt³ /12 and I=bh³ /12 represents themoment of inertia of areas of the flange 9 and the vibration portion,respectively), if it is assumed that 5<b/t. When E=Ef and b=1, we willhave a relation EI/(Ef·If)>125 wherein 1 designates the length of theflange 9 and h designates the height of the vibration portion.

Accordingly, if h/t>5, the flange 9 is readily flexed while thevibration portion 10 is almost completely a rigid body. Therefore, thevibration of the stator 6 can be transmitted to the vibration portion10, but the vibration will be dampened from the flange 9 to the rotormain body 8 so that transmission of the vibration from the flange 9 tothe rotor main body 8 is difficult, resulting in a minimum loss ofvibration energy. If h/t>15, dampening of the vibration of the flange 9is sufficient while an unwanted vibration will occur at the vibrationportion 10 when the vibration of the stator 6 is transmitted to thevibration portion 10, resulting in a low motor efficiency (refer to FIG.6). However, when b≈t wherein b designates the thickness of a main bodyor extension of the vibration portion 10 which extends from the flange9, the rigidity of the vibration portion 10 will be lowered and anunwanted flexing vibration in a radial direction will readily occur atthe vibration portion and a vibrational component which will notcontribute to the rotation of the rotor 7 will occur. Accordingly, theefficiency of the motor will be lowered (refer to FIG. 2). On the otherhand, when b≧=3.5t, the mass and the rigidity of the vibration portion10 will be increased and the vibration energy which is transmitted fromthe stator 6 to the vibration portion will be increased so that thevibration which will not contribute to the motor rotation will occur atthe vibration portion, resulting in lowering of the motor efficiency(refer to FIG. 2). Accordingly, the motor efficiency will become maximumwhen the ratio of t to b assumes an appropriate value. In the presentinvention, it is apparent from FIG. 2 that the motor efficiency becomesmaximum around b/t=2 and when 1≦b/t≦3.5, a motor efficiency of not lessthan 20% can be assured so that a motor can output a practical power.

An effective contact area between the rotor and the stator may be madelarger and .[.a.]. high wear resistant and stable contact surfaces ofthe rotor and the stator may be obtained since the width of the contactportion of the vibration portion 10 which is in contact with the statormay be sufficiently large. Therefore, a stable ultrasonic motor havingan extended lifetime may be fabricated. Since the vibration portion 10is almost a rigid body, an appropriate high fabrication precision of thecontact surface which is in contact with the stator can be assured bythe usual machining working and the contact surface will not irregularlywave due to the vibration of the stator 6. Since the motor is formed sothat the rigidity of the flange 9 is low while the rigidity of thevibration 10 is high and the resonant frequency f of the vibrationportion 10 is higher than the resonant frequency fs of the stator 6, anunwanted vibration which will not contribute to the rotor rotation willnot be generated at the vibration portion 10 of the rotor 7 and thecontact interface between the stator 6 and the rotor 7 will be kept at astable state.

Accordingly, the rotor 7 will rotate stably and an unwanted slippingbetween the rotor and the stator will not occur and an uncomfortablehigh frequency audible noise will not be generated. It is preferablethat the thickness of the flange 9 be as thin as possible in order toprovide a compact rotor 7 while the flange can not be machined at a highprecision unless the minimum thickness is equal to or larger than 0.1mm. Considering the output of the ultrasonic motor including a stator 6having an outer diameter of about 20 mm to 80 mm, if the thickness t ispreset at about 0.5 mm at maximum, a rotor which provides a highefficient motor could be designed and the rotor may be minimized insize. That is, if the thickness t of the flange 9 is made so that 0.1mm≦t≦0.5 mm, a compact rotor which provides a high efficient motor maybe made.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, there is shown a main part of a secondembodiment of the present invention. The second embodiment is identicalwith the first embodiment except that a slider 11 is bonded to thesurface of the vibration portion 10 of the rotor 7 which is in pressurecontact with the contact portion 3 of the stator 6. Accordingly, thecontact area 13 between the rotor 7 and the stator 6 is made wider asshown in FIG. 3 so that the lifetime of the motor is remarkablyimproved. An experiment shows that a motor of the second embodimentexhibits a lifetime not less than five hundred thousand rotations.

The slider 11 is made of a sheet of a heat resistant resin in whichpolytetrafluoroethylene is incorporated in an aromatic polyester. Theslider 11 is bonded to the rotor made of A5056 aluminum with a polyimideresin. If the thickness of the slider 11 is in the order 0.1-0.3 mm, anoptimum area of the contact area 13 may be preset for an ultrasonicmotor in which the rotor biasing force is 0.5-5 kg.

The wider contact area 13 provides an extended period of lifetime. Whenthe contact area 13 becomes excessively wider, the slider will not onlycontact with the peak of the travelling wave, but also contact with theroot of the travelling wave, resulting in lowering of the motorefficiency. Therefore, it is necessary to select an appropriate slidermaterial to provide an appropriate contact area for a biasing force ofthe rotor 7. It is deemed that the above-mentioned heat-resistant resinsheet is optimal. Other materials having a heat-resistance and anelastic modulus in compression of 0.7×10⁴ -1.3×10⁴ kg/cm² includingpolyimide, polyamide, phenols and the like are also preferable. It isapparent from the FIG. 4 showing the section taken along a line X--X inFIG. 3 that the contact area 13 between the rotor and the stator is keptstable under the spring action of the flange 9, which contributes to thestable rotation of the ultrasonic motor although the amplitude of thevibration of the stator 6 is usually high and low on the outer and innerdiameter sides, respectively.

Referring now to FIG. 5, there is shown the main parts of the rotor in athird embodiment of the present invention. The rotor 7A in the thirdembodiment comprises a rotor main body 8A having a link portion 8a whichis formed by machining the outer periphery of the lower part of thethick-walled short cylinder, a thin-walled outward flange .Iadd.9A.Iaddend.which extends integrally from the end face of the link portion8a on the side of the stator, a vibration portion main body 10A which iscylindrically formed integrally with the outer peripheral edge of theflange 9A and extends in a vibration direction of the travelling wave,and a contact portion 10B which is formed at the end face of the mainbody 10A on the side of the stator and .[.including.]. .Iadd.includes.Iaddend.a relatively thick-walled inward flange. The vibration potionmain body or extension 10A and the contact portion 10B corresponds to avibration portion 10 in the first embodiment.

The thus formed rotor 7A makes it possible to effectively provide theflange 9A in a limited space since the width of the contact area b₂ maybe made wider so that b₂ >b wherein b₂ represents the thickness of thesurface of the vibration portion which is in contact with the stator andb represents the thickness of the vibration main body or extension 10Aintegral with the flange 9A and the rigidity of the vibration portion ismaintained and the width of the link portion 8a and the rotor main body8A is made narrow.

The rigidity in bending of the vibration portion including the vibrationmain body or extension 10A and the contact portion 10B is represented asEI wherein E denotes the longitudinal modulus E of the vibration portionand I denotes the moment of inertia of area which is determined by theconfiguration.

    I=(b.sub.2 e.sub.2.sup.3 -b.sub.1 h.sub.3.sup.3 +be.sub.1.sup.3)/3

wherein

    e.sub.1 =h-e.sub.2

    e.sub.2 =(b.sub.1 h.sub.1.sup.2 +bh)/[2(b.sub.1 h.sub.1 +bh)]

    h.sub.3 =e.sub.2 -h.sub.1

h is the parameter which largely contributes to I. The configuration ofa rotor having an optimal rigidity may be obtained when 5<h/t<15.

Referring now to FIGS. 6 and 7, there are graphs showing the relationbetween the rotor configuration and the maximum efficiency of a motorwhen the configuration of the rotor 7A shown in FIG. 5 changes. FIG. 6shows a maximum efficiency of a motor in relation to h/t. The efficiencyof the motor becomes a maximum approximately when h/t=10. FIG. 7 is agraph showing the relation between the motor efficiency and the springconstant kf of the flange portion 9A. In this case, the motor efficiencybecomes maximum approximately when kf=8 kg/mm.

Since kf∝EI and kf∝t³, it is t that most contributes to the efficiencyin the flange. This means that an optimal value of t exists.

FIG. 8 is a graph showing the relation between the spring constant ofthe rotor flange and the rotor biasing force which provides a maximummotor efficiency when the rotor biasing force and the rotorconfiguration is determined so that a maximum efficiency and stablerotation may be attained for motors having various outputs (startingtorque 0.5 kgcm to 2.5 kgcm, outer diameter of the stator 50 mm to 80mm). It is understood from FIG. 8 that the spring constant of the flangekf (kg/mm) may be represented by a formula as follows:

    kf=1.43N+3.5

wherein N(kg) represents the rotor biasing force. Since the drivingtorque of the motor T=r·μP wherein P represents a biasing force, r amean diameter of the rotor, μ a friction coefficient of the contact areabetween the rotor and the stator, the spring constant of the optionalflange may be determined by defining the output value of a motor fromthe graph in FIG. 8. An efficient and stable motor could be obtained ifthe configuration of the vibration portion is preset .[.optimal.]..Iadd.optimally .Iaddend.to conform to the configuration of the flange.An optimal rotor configuration is such that t=0.25 mm, h=2.5 mm, b=1.5mm and a motor having a starting torque of 1.8 kgcm and a maximumefficiency of 26% is obtained when a rotor to which a slider of PTFEhaving a thickness of 0.15 mm is bonded is used together with a statorhaving an outer diameter of 65 mm and an inner diameter of 58 mm and aresonant frequency of 40 kHz. The output value of the motor is theaverage of 10 motors.

The best motor shows a starting torque and a maximum efficiency whichexceed 2 kgcm and 35%, respectively.

The resonant frequency f of the vibration portion is represented by thefollowing formula: ##EQU1## λ represents the wavelength of thetravelling wave generated in the stator;

C represents the sound velocity at the vibration portion;

I represents the moment of inertia of area; and

A represents the sectional area of the vibration portion.

In the case of the above-mentioned example, f=84 kHz, which isapproximately double the resonant frequency fs (40 kHz), that is f>fs.The rotor will not induce an unwanted resonation due to vibration of thestator. Accordingly, a stable rotation of the rotor can be attained. Theresonant frequency charges depending upon the configuration of thevibration portion as is apparent from the above-mentioned formula. It ispossible to change the sound velocity ##EQU2## (wherein E represents thelongitudinal modulus and ρ represents the density) by changing thematerial of the vibration portion.

Referring now to FIGS. 9(A), 9(B) and 9(C), there are views showing thevariations of the rotor 7A of the present invention. A rotor 7A₁ in FIG.9(A) includes a contact portion 10B₁ (rectangular in section), which isformed symmetrically with respect to the central axis of the vibrationportion 10A. The width of the contact portion 10B₁ may be made wider anda stable motor in which balance against the vibration is excellent isobtained.

A rotor 7A₂ shown in FIG. 9(B) has such a configuration that the widthof the contact portion 10B₂ (trapizoidal in section) may be made widerand the space for the vibration portion 10A may be a minimum. The rotor7A₃ of FIG. 9(C) is integrally formed by assembling a separate flange 9Band a vibration portion 10A. In such a manner, a more compact and highlyefficient rotor may be fabricated by changing the configuration as wellas the material.

FIG. 10 shows a variation of a flange in which the flange is foldeddouble. If the number of foldings of the flange is increased, the samespring constant may be assured even by using the flange 9A havingthicknesses of t₁ and t₂ which are larger than that of the flange whichis folded once as is shown in FIGS. 1, 4 and 5 and the strength againstthe breakage of the flange could be increased and deformation of theflange would not occur on fabrication.

FIG. 11 shows a variation of the rotor in which the flange 9A of therotor SA is formed with a large plurality of holes extending in a radialdirection. FIG. 12 shows another variation of the rotor in which theflange 9A of the rotor 8A is formed with a large plurality of holes 25extending in a thrust direction in a spaced manner. The variations ofFIGS. 11 and 12 .[.provides.]..Iadd.provide .Iaddend.the same effect asthat of FIG. 10. Although holes are provided in the variations of FIGS.10 and 11, the same effect may also be obtained by partially thinningthe flange instead of providing holes.

Referring now to FIG. 13, there is shown a lens-barrel assembly for acamera and the like in which an ultrasonic motor of the presentinvention is incorporated for driving a lens along an optical axis todetermine the distance and etc.

The lens barrel 20 comprises a stationary frame 12 including a cylinderwhich is relatively thick and has an integral outward flange 12A at thebase thereof, a lens frame 13 which is slidably disposed within thestationary frame 12, and a lens 14 such as taking lens supported by thelens frame 13. The ultrasonic motor is incorporated in the lens barrel20.

A stator 6 comprises an annular stator main body 4 made of an elasticmaterial which is formed with a multiplicity of slits 4a and apiezoelectric ceramics 5 bonded to the main body 4 which is polarized togenerate a travelling flexing wave in the main body 4. The stator 6 issupported by a support 15 on the ceramic side. The support 15 is securedto the flange 12a of the stationary frame 12 and has support projections15a arranged about the periphery thereof in an equally spaced manner.The number of the projections is equal to that of the travelling waves.The stator 6 is also supported at the inner periphery thereof by areceiving ring 15b which extends in an axial direction against radialmovement of the stator. The support 15 is made of rubber material andwill hardly transmit the vibration of the stator 6 to the stationaryframe 12. The rotor 7 which is formed as mentioned above is normally inpressure contact with the surface of the stator main body 4, in whichslits 4a are formed.Iadd., .Iaddend.by a biasing means. The biasingmeans comprises a ring ball bearing 17 disposed around the frame 12,balls .[.18.]. .Iadd.16 .Iaddend.being disposed between the bearing 17and the front end of the rotor 7, a ring screw member 19 threadablyengaged with the stationary frame 12 and a leaf spring 18 disposedbetween the screw member 19 and the ring bearing 17. The rotor 7 is heldaround the stationary frame 12 without being in contact with the frame12 by means of balls 16 and the biasing force of the rotor 7 appliedonto the stator main body 4. This mitigates the friction loss of themotor and increases the efficiency of the motor.

The main body 8A of the rotor 7 is provided at three equally spacedangular positions with three straight guide grooves 8Aa which extend inan axial direction. The stationary frame 12 is formed with three curvedcam grooves 12b corresponding to the guide grooves 8Aa for driving thelens 14 in an optical axis direction. A driving pin 21 which is securedto the lens frame 13 extends through each cam groove 12b and guidegroove 8Aa. A cylindrical roller 22 is fitted on the driving pin 21.

In the thus formed lens-barrel assembly, a travelling flexing wave isgenerated at the stator 6 so that the rotor 7 which is in pressurecontact with the stator 6 will rotate when high frequency voltages areapplied on the piezoelectric ceramics 5. When the rotor 7 rotates, eachdriving pin 21 and each roller 22 is guided by and along the guidegroove 8Aa and is then forwardly or backwardly moved while being rotatedaround the optical axis. Therefore the lens frame 13 which is integralwith the driving pins 21 is forwardly and backwardly moved in an opticalaxis direction while it is rotated around the optical axis by followingthe curved cam grooves 12b.

In case of the thus formed lens driving mechanism, even if the lensframe 13 is depressed or pulled in an optical axis direction when theultrasonic motor is stopped, no force is applied upon the rotor 7, sothat the thin-walled flange 9 will never be broken. Application of thislens driving mechanism to an automatic focusing mechanism for a cameramakes it possible to perform quiet, high response and fast lens control.Accordingly, an automatic focusing mechanism having a high performanceremarkably better than that of the automatic focusing mechanism using aconventional electromagnetic motor may be realized.

A latitude of modification, change and substitution is intended in theforegoing disclosure, and in some instances, some features of theinvention will be employed without a corresponding use of otherfeatures. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims beconstrued broadly and in a manner consistent with the spirit and scopeof the invention herein described.

What is claimed is:
 1. An ultrasonic motor comprising:an annular statorincluding an elastic member and piezo-electric elements secured to saidelastic member which generates a travelling wave on .[.the.]. .Iadd.a.Iaddend.surface of the elastic member by being applied with highfrequency voltages; and a rotor which is in pressure-contact with theelastic member and is driven to be rotated with respect to said statorby virtue of the travelling wave, said rotor including a cylindricalmain body and a flange integrally secured to .[.the.]. .Iadd.a.Iaddend.periphery of the rotor main body at one end of the main bodyopposing the stator, and a cylindrical vibration portion secured to anend face of the flange and having a diameter different from that of therotor main body, said vibration portion extending in a direction whichis the same as the vibration direction of the travelling wave, saidrotor satisfying the following relation; 5<(h/t)<15 wherein t designatesthe thickness of the flange in a direction of the rotational axis, and hdesignates the height of the vibration portion in a direction of thevibration of the travelling wave.
 2. An ultrasonic motor as defined inclaim 1 in which said vibration portion comprises an extension portionsecured to the flange and a contact portion which is larger in widththan said extension portion and is in contact with the stator.
 3. Anultrasonic motor as defined in claim 1 in which a slider is secured tothe surface of the contact portion of the rotor which is in pressurecontact with the stator.
 4. An ultrasonic motor as defined in claim 3 inwhich said slider is made of a sheet of a heat resistant resin in whichpolytetrafluoroethylene is incorporated in aromatic polyesters, saidslider being bonded to the pressure contact surface of the rotor with apolyimide resin.
 5. An ultrasonic motor as defined in claim 3 in whichsaid slider has a thickness ranging from 0.1 to 0.3 mm when .[.the.]..Iadd.a .Iaddend.pressure contact force of the vibration portion appliedon the stator is 0.5 to 5 kg.
 6. An ultrasonic motor as defined in claim3 in which said slider is made of a heat resistant resin having amodulus of compression elasticity of 0.7×10⁴ to 1.3×10⁴ kg/cm².
 7. Anultrasonic motor as defined in claim 6 in which said heat resistantresin is selected from the group consisting of polyimide, polyamide andphenol resins.
 8. An ultrasonic motor as defined in claim 1 in which therotor main body is of reduced thickness on .[.the.]. .Iadd.a.Iaddend.side where the flange extends by being cut in .[.the.]. .Iadd.a.Iaddend.vicinity of the flange.
 9. An ultrasonic motor as defined inclaim 2 in which said contact portion of the rotor is substantiallyrectangular and trapezoidal in section.
 10. An ultrasonic motor asdefined in claim 1 in which the flange of the rotor is bent one or moretimes.
 11. An ultrasonic motor comprising:an annular stator including anelastic member and piezo-electric elements secured to said elasticmember which generates a travelling wave on .[.the.]. .Iadd.a.Iaddend.surface of the elastic member by being applied with highfrequency voltages; and a rotor which is in pressure-contact with theelastic member and is driven to be rotated with respect to said statorby virtue of the travelling wave, said rotor including a cylindricalmain body and a thin flange integrally secured to .[.the.]. .Iadd.a.Iaddend.periphery of the rotor main body at one end of the main bodyfacing the stator, and a cylindrical vibration portion secured to an endface of the flange and having a diameter different from that of therotor main body, said vibration portion extending in a direction whichis the same as the vibration direction of the travelling wave, saidrotor satisfying the following relation, 1≦(b/t)≦3.5 wherein tdesignates .[.the.]. .Iadd.a .Iaddend.thickness of the flange in adirection of the rotational axis and b designates .[.the.]. .Iadd.a.Iaddend.width of the vibration portion in a radial direction.
 12. Anultrasonic motor as defined in claim 11 in which said vibration portioncomprises an extension portion secured to the flange and a contactportion which is larger in width than said extension portion and is incontact with the stator.
 13. An ultrasonic motor as defined in claim 11in which a slider is secured to .[.the.]. .Iadd.a .Iaddend.surface ofthe contact portion of the rotor which is in pressure contact with thestator.
 14. An ultrasonic motor as defined in claim 13 in which saidslider is made of a sheet of a heat resistant resin in whichpolytetrafluoroethylene is incorporated in aromatic polyesters, saidslider being bonded to the pressure contact surface of the rotor with apolyimide resin.
 15. An ultrasonic motor as defined in claim 13 in whichsaid slider has a thickness ranging from 0.1 to 0.3 mm when .[.the.]..Iadd.a .Iaddend.pressure contact force of the vibration portion appliedon the stator is 0.5 to 5 kg.
 16. An ultrasonic motor as defined inclaim 13 in which said slider is made of a heat resistant resin having amodulus of compression elasticity of 0.7×10⁴ to 1.3×10⁴ kg/cm².
 17. Anultrasonic motor as defined in claim 16 in which said heat resistantresin is selected from the group consisting of polyimide, polyamide andphenol resins.
 18. An ultrasonic motor as defined in claim 11 in whichthe rotor main body is of reduced thickness on .[.the.]. .Iadd.a.Iaddend.side where the flange extends by being cut in the vicinity ofthe flange.
 19. An ultrasonic motor as defined in claim 12 in which saidcontact portion of the rotor is substantially rectangular andtrapezoidal in section.
 20. An ultrasonic motor as defined in claim 11in which the flange of the rotor is bent one or more times.
 21. Anultrasonic motor comprising:an annular stator including an elasticmember and piezo-electric elements secured to said elastic member whichgenerates a travelling wave on .[.the.]. .Iadd.a .Iaddend.surface of theelastic member by being applied with high frequency voltages; and arotor including two cylindrical members having different diameters and aflange which links said two cylindrical members with each other, saidrotor being driven to be rotated with respect to the stator by causingone of the two cylindrical members to engage the stator at the one endthereof, .[.the.]. .Iadd.a .Iaddend.spring constant of the flange of therotor kf (kg/mm) being represented by the formula kf=1.43N+3.5 whereinN(kg) represents a biasing force of the rotor applied upon the stator.22. An ultrasonic motor as defined in claim 21 in which .[.the.]..Iadd.a .Iaddend.portion of the cylinder which is in contact with thestator is, wider than .[.the.]. .Iadd.a .Iaddend.portion of the cylindersecured to the flange.
 23. An ultrasonic motor comprising:an annularstator including an elastic member and piezo-electric elements securedto said elastic member which generates a travelling wave on .[.the.]..Iadd.a .Iaddend.surface of the elastic member by being applied withhigh frequency voltages; and a rotor which is in pressure contact withthe surface of the elastic member and is driven to be rotated withrespect to the stator by the travelling wave, said rotor comprising acylindrical main body, a thin-walled flange integrally secured to.[.the.]. .Iadd.a .Iaddend.periphery of the main body at an end facethereof facing the stator, said flange being formed with a plurality ofholes arranged in a spaced manner about said flange, and a cylindricalvibration portion integrally secured to .[.the.]. .Iadd.an .Iaddend.endface of the flange, which extends in a direction of vibration of thetravelling wave.
 24. An ultrasonic motor comprising;an annular statorincluding an elastic member and piezo-electric elements secured to saidelastic member which generates a travelling wave on .[.the.]. .Iadd.a.Iaddend.surface of the elastic member by being applied with highfrequency voltages; and a rotor which is in pressure-contact with theelastic member and is driven to be rotated with respect to said statorby virtue of the travelling wave, said rotor including a cylindricalmain body and a flange integrally secured to .[.the.]. .Iadd.a.Iaddend.periphery of the rotor main body at one end of the main bodyopposing the stator, and a cylindrical vibration portion secured to anend face of the flange and having a diameter different from that of therotor main body, said vibration portion extending in a direction whichis the same as the vibration direction of the travelling wave, saidrotor satisfying the following relation: 5<(h/t)<15 wherein t designates.[.the.]. .Iadd.a .Iaddend.thickness of the flange and h designates.[.the.]. .Iadd.a .Iaddend.height of the vibration portion in adirection of the vibration of the travelling wave.
 25. An ultrasonicmotor as defined in claim 24 in which .[.the.]. .Iadd.a.Iaddend.diameter of said vibration portion is greater than .[.the.]..Iadd.a .Iaddend.diameter of the main body.
 26. An ultrasonic motor asdefined in claim 24 wherein said flange has at least one folded portion..Iadd.27. An ultrasonic motor comprising:a stator consisting of anelastic member and an electromechanical energy transducing element whichgenerates a vibration on a surface of said elastic member; a rotor whichis in pressure-contact with the surface of said elastic member and isrotated about an axis relative to said stator responsive to saidvibration; and said rotor being a cylindrical main body and a flangeintegrally joined to a periphery of the rotor main body at one end ofthe main body opposing said stator, and a cylindrical vibration portionsecured to an end face of said flange and having a diameter differentfrom that of the rotor main body, said vibration portion extending inthe direction of said axis of rotation, said rotor satisfying arelation: < (h/t)<15 wherein t designates the thickness of the flangemeasured in the axial direction, and h designates the height of thevibration portion measured in the axial direction. .Iaddend..Iadd.28. Anultrasonic motor comprising: a stator formed of an elastic member and anelectromechanical energy transducing element which generates a vibrationon a surface of said elastic member; a rotor which is inpressure-contact with the surface of said elastic member and is rotatedabout an axis relatively to said stator responsive to said vibration;and said rotor being a cylindrical main body and a flange integrallysecured to a periphery of the rotor main body at one end of the mainbody opposing said stator, and a cylindrical vibration portion securedto an end face of said flange and having a diameter different from thatof the rotor main body, said vibration portion extending in a directionof said axis of rotation, said rotor satisfying a relation; ≦ (b/t)≦3.5wherein t designates a thickness of the flange measured in the directionof the axis of rotation, and b designates a width of the vibrationportion measured in a radial direction. .Iaddend..Iadd.29. An ultrasonicmotor comprising: a stator formed of an elastic member and anelectromechanical energy transducing element which generates a vibrationon a surface of said elastic member; and a rotor formed of twocylindrical members having different diameters and a flange which linkssaid two cylindrical members which each other, said rotor being rotatedrelative to the stator about an axis responsive to said vibration bycausing one of the two cylindrical members to engage the stator at theone end thereof, the spring constant of the flange of the rotor kf(kg/mm) being represented by the formula kf=1.43N+3.5 wherein Nrepresents a pressure-contact force of the rotor applied upon thestator. .Iaddend..Iadd.30. An ultrasonic motor comprising: a statorformed of an elastic member and an electromechanical energy transducingelement which generates a vibration on a surface of said elastic member;and a rotor which is in pressure-contact with a surface of said elasticmember and is rotated relative to said stator responsive to saidvibration, said rotor comprising a cylindrical main body, a thin-walledflange integrally secured to a periphery of the main body at an end facethereof facing the stator, said flange having a plurality of holesarranged at spaced intervals about said flange, and a cylindricalvibration portion integrally secured to an end face of said thin-walledflange, which extends in a direction of the axis of rotation..Iaddend..Iadd.31. An ultrasonic motor comprising: a stator formed of anelastic member and an electromechanical energy transducing element whichgenerates a vibration on a surface of said elastic member; and a rotorwhich is in pressure-contact with said elastic member and is rotatedrelative to said stator responsive to said vibration, said rotorcomprising a cylindrical main body, a flange integrally secured to aperiphery of the main body at an end face thereof facing the stator anda cylindrical vibration portion secured to an end face of the flange andhaving a diameter different from that of the rotor main body, saidvibration portion extending in a direction of an axis of rotation ofsaid rotor, said rotor satisfying the following relation; 5<(h/t)<15wherein 5 designates a thickness of the flange in an axial direction,and h designates a height of the vibration portion in an axialdirection. .Iaddend.